Quality Time
by Mage Skywalker
Summary: There is nothing like a quiet night with the family. Except with the Mutous you can forget about the quiet part. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Yu gi oh so this is a no sue zone.

Quality Time 

Small pudgy hands gripped two shining gold pieces and slowly pushed them together. They clicked in place, he giggled, and reached for another.

"Oh no, no, Yugi! That's not for you!"

Yugi dropped the pieces he was holding as he was scooped up into loving arms, and the two that had been put together came apart as they hit the table.

"Solomon, honestly I don't know why you keep that thing out."

Solomon finished putting away the last dinner plate and turned to his wife. "It's a valuable artefact, dear, I risked my life for it."

"So, it could collect dust on our kitchen table and choke our grandson."

"I'm going to solve it one day, and when I do I'll sell it and have enough money to buy you a long string of pearls," he said coming over and gently kissing her on the cheek. "You love pearls."

Elizabeth smiled coyly at her husband's affections. "So you said six months ago."

She re-positioned Yugi and carried him back into the living room. The toddler seeing that he was being taken away from his new found toy suddenly burst into tears.

"Want 'uzzle!" he yelled and reached out his arms for it.

"No, Yugi, that's a grown-up toy. Here you can play with something more age-appropriate," she said setting him down on the floor in front of a stack of colourful rings all held in place by a bright yellow tube. He sniffled and looked at with large inquisitive eyes, before scrunching up his face as if the say 'how boring' and knocking the tower over with a loud, "no!"

"You're insulting his intelligence, Elizabeth," Solomon said pulling something from his pocket, "here you are, Yugi."

"Oh, dad, please tell me you didn't buy him another toy."

"No this is a demo model for one I want to sell."

"You're spoiling him you know that," Yugi's mother said.

"Well I need someone to be a product tester don't I? And who better? He already has the Mutou gaming genes."

Yugi shrieked with laughter and hit the new game against the table.

David chuckled. "Well at least you know it's durable."

Solomon huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He'll be great just wait and see."

"I'm sure he will, but the day will come when he'll want to put away all those childish things. Then he's going to be daddy's little helper and run a wonderful business isn't he?"

"Yes, daddy."

"That's my boy," he said ruffling his son's and sitting back on the couch. He had just gotten comfortable when his pager beeped. "Speaking of business." He grabbed it from his pocket and checked the message.

He sighed. "I'm sorry I have to go in."

"What! Why?"

"An issue has come up with our new account and I have to be there to over see the employees and perform any necessary damage control."

"But, David, you promised it was going to just be the family this weekend. No work. Why can't Masson watch the company?"

"Honey, Masson can't watch paint dry. I just can't leave him in charge of such an important account."

"It's a grape jam commercial!"

"It is also our livelihood!"

"Surely they can handle it, David? You do have to delegate you know."

"I know, mom, but I can't just yet it's too early. If I let someone else handle it now people will think I have no authority."

Elizabeth was just about to pull her husband into the fray when the phone rang and he dashed out the room to grab it.

David put his hands gently put his hands on his wife's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I promise I won't be long." He kissed her and walked out of the living room to the front door and began putting on his shoes.

Solomon then came back into the room caught in a dilemma of his own. "Robert, what am I going to do with seven hundred Rubik's cubes?!" he shouted, while trying to talk on the phone and shove his coat on at the same time. "No, no seventy! Just one zero! Oh, just hold them there I'll be right over."

"Come with me, dad, I'll give you a ride."

"Thank you."

The phone clattered to the floor and they both went outside, the door slamming behind them.

Julia sighed. "Wave bye-bye to the workaholics, Yugi."

"Go-bye!"

"Don't be so hard on them you know they do it all for us."

She only sighed again. "How can you accept it? Him always leaving like that?"

"It is his place, his dream, and he is a grown man he may do as he likes within in reason of course."

"You know I really didn't think he was going to go through with it. Men his age are usually thinking about retirement, not starting up a business."

"Julia, my husband is going to retire ten years after he's dead."

She laughed. "That sounds about right."

"Well since the boys will be gone for goodness knows how long, can I at least interest you in some coffee and dessert?"

"That would be lovely."

Julia picked up her son and carried him into the kitchen again.

"'uzzle! 'uzzle!" Yugi cried happily and tried to reach for the pieces.

"Oh, here let me clean that up," Elizabeth said and quickly began gathering up the pieces into a small gold box.

"He sure is attached to that thing isn't he?"

"Of course he is it's shiny," she answered placing the box on a high shelf.

Yugi began to whimper as he saw his toy being taken away again. Julia quickly put him down to try and get him to play with the many toys that were beginning to clutter up the floor. Once he was amused she went to the table and helped to pour the coffee.

"So tell me more about this shop. Has he thought up a name for it?"

"He wants to call it the Turtle Game shop."

"Well that's uh…different."

"I can see it actually. The building does sort of look like a turtle if you squint really hard and ignore the peeling paint on the roof."

"Do you plan to live there?"

"Not right away. We both like it here. It's close to everything we have lots of friends around and we aren't ready to try and tackle the mass of clutter we've collected in our basement. The new place is cozy though. Yugi will love it when he's older."

With the coffee now ready Elizabeth grabbed the dessert from the fridge and began cutting it in to small squares.

"You really must teach me how to make this."

"Haven't I already given you the recipe?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't have the knack for it. My first attempt was an unmitigated disaster," she giggled, "I have never seen so many muscles in his face convulse at one time."

"Dare I hope there are pictures?"

Julia nodded. "To remain hidden under penalty of death."

"So I'll be able to see them next time we're over?"

"Was there ever any doubt?"

They sipped from their mugs and turned their attention to the floor to watch Yugi try to build a tower of building blocks.

"Have you two thought about having anymore children?"

"No, we haven't really discussed it yet."

"Yugi, really should have a little brother or sister you know."

"Well you only had David."

"And look how well that turned out! If we'd had more perhaps one of them wouldn't run out the door the minute dinner is finished."

"I don't know though. I think we got it right the first time didn't we, Yugi?"

The toddler didn't answer as he was now engrossed in pushing a plastic dump truck across the floor.

"Besides I don't think I'll ever be able to get my husband in bed long enough to get another kid."

"Don't worry once the company is better established he will have time for you again. It's the early stages that are the hardest. I don't how many times I vowed never to speak to him again after he would spend days buried in a mountain of paperwork. You know it's hard to believe it's so close to being ready. Soon will all be able to enjoy all his hard work."

"You really believe in his dream don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"But you like to shoot down all his ideas and, no offence, but you often tell him what an idiot he's being."

"Darn right I do. I make sure he stays grounded in reality and not floating off into the clouds with dreams of sweeping the sidewalk while Yugi begs him to show off all his prized collection pieces. I want him to succeed and to do that one of us needs to have a level head to see the big picture. Oh, and you ever tell him I told you any of this I'll die of embarrassment and come back from the grave and haunt you."

"My lips are sealed."

They laughed.

"You know we really should get together more often."

"Oh, I'm sure we will have a lot of chances to do this again."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the door unlocking and swinging open.

"Hey, we're back what did we miss?"

"Daddy!"

Yugi ran up and David lifted his son up into the air.

"Missed me already did we, Yugi?"

"Oh, lemon cake."

"Solomon, get out of that and get a plate like everyone else."

&&&

The clock face read one am as Solomon finished tying the bow on the last present. He put it aside and picked up a picture from his dresser carefully removing the pearl necklace on the corner of the frame. Holding both in his hands he thought of how they should have been here, how he wished they could be here, wrapping the presents and watching Yugi wake up on Christmas morning. There was no use dwelling out what could not be. He had to finish this if he wanted to get any sleep before Yugi was up at the crack of dawn dragging him downstairs to open gifts and give him a picture or small recipe holder or whatever small thing he had made at school.

He made his way down the hall to check on his grandson and make sure it was safe to put the gifts under the tree. He was shocked when he found Yugi not asleep, but sitting up, looking out his window, holding his favourite stuffed dog to his chest.

"Yugi you are not supposed to be up. You know Santa isn't going to come if you're not asleep."

"I couldn't sleep."

Solomon came over and sat down beside Yugi.

"Why not?"

"My teacher keeps talking about how Christmas is all about family and some people say 'cause I don't have a mom of a dad that we're not really a family."

"Yugi, of course we're a family and you know just because they aren't here doesn't mean they're not watching over us and watching they could be here to celebrate with us."

"Really?"

"Of course and we can always remember the good times we had with them."

"But you're really old you spent much more time with them than I did."

"I suppose so."

"Grandpa, tell me about them, so I can remember them too, please?"

He leaned back letting Yugi cuddle close to his side and thought back to times that they might not have had a great quantity of, but that had truly been of great quality.

The End


End file.
